Step Applying The First Coat

Saturate the applicator pad with 1-pound cut shellac and begin rubbing the furniture surface with a circular, non-stop motion. You will be able to see the pad depositing shellac on the oiled surface. Keep rubbing as Jong as shellac transfers. Then saturate the pad again with shellac and add a few drops of linseed oil for lubrication.

Rubbing on the Shellac The rubbing motion is the most difficult part of applying the French polish. In order to do it correctly, you must practice until you develop the knack. Start the circular motion with the pad held over the surface. Then lower the pad without pausing until it contacts the surface. The motion must be continuous, because if you stop even for a moment, the pad will become tacky. When it comes time to lift the pad from the surface for recharging, do this with a sweeping motion so that the pad "takes off" of the surface without stopping.

The success of a French polish depends upon the rubbing motion To avoid blemishes, practice before you work on the wood itself

THIS book is one of the series of Handbooks on industrial subjects being published by the Popular Mechanics Company. Like Popular Mechanics Magazine, and like the other books in this series, it is written so you can understand it. The purpose of Popular Mechanics Handbooks is to supply a growing demand for high-class, up-to-date and accurate text-books, suitable for home study as well as for class use, on all mechanical subjects. The textand illustrations, in each instance, have been prepared expressly for this series by well known experts, and revised by the editor of Popular Mechanics.